Canteen Gannets

Image: Mozzercork

There was need to bring sandwiches into work today because our Christmas dinner was being served. For the small cost of £3.40 we got to sit in the staff canteen and force a 3-course meal down our gullets in a per-arranged, and ticketed, 40-minute slot.

The food wasn’t all that bad as it turned out; tomato soup with croutons to start; floppy turkey, stuffing, chipolatas, mixed vegetables, potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce for the main; and trifle for dessert. We were then permitted a fresh coffee and single chocolate mint to the “comfy seat” area to finish off. I was stuffed by the time I got back to my desk and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to keep my eyes open.

Every 40 minutes or so a fresh line of people grew, trailing through the canteen with tickets in hand, all waiting anxiously to get an early Christmas meal. It felt like being a soup kitchen for the middle classes.

I wrote out and polished the (almost) final draft of the last section for my January Scruffy Dog Review column. It still needs some attention with regards to tense because the event I’m promoting will probably have happened by the time it gets published.

I began editing work on the short story I wrote during the course of Devon Ellington’s Dialogue Workshop at this year’s Muse conference. It’s called The Big Taff Affair but I may change it.

I sent off another three queries for gigs – quite juicy ones too – which takes me ever closer to my annual tally. One of my newer one-off clients got back to me after I sent off the first draft of her CV/cover letter. She wasn’t happy – wants it to be “more sophisticated but plain”. Bit if a paradox I felt but who am I? I’m only going to give it one quick re-draft because it’s not a lot of money we agreed on and I don’t want it encroaching any more into my time before it becomes non-profitable.

Quick work on the Bush-shoe incident. His supporters say he was merely “exercising his freedom of expression”. Fair enough, but in a civilised society that normally precludes violence or acts of threatening behaviour – such as throwing things at people. Secondly, what would have happened to the bloke had he done that to Saddam when he was in power? His head would have rolled, most likely, so one might argue he only has that perceived freedom of expression because of the fact Hussein was removed.

What is perhaps more worrying, particularly if your surname happens to be Obama, is the time it took the Secret Service to get between the shoe-man and the President. Or maybe, that wasn’t a coincidence?